The Knight's Return
by TheSapphireSky
Summary: Royal AU: on her wedding day, Molly wishes the man waiting at the end the aisle was her secret love, a knight long thought dead.


**AN: Hi! It's been awhile, so I hope this (rather long) drabble makes up for it a bit. I wrote it instead of working on my WIPs… (I do feel rather guilty about that). Anyway, it's a Sherlolly Medieval-ish AU that has all the makings of a cheesy romance plot…I have no regrets.**

The entire kingdom was abuzz with excitement as the morning of the royal wedding dawned. Bakers and chefs were rushing about preparing the food for the enormous celebration feast and seamstresses and tailors were rushing to put the final touches on gowns and shirttails alike.

The castle servants were rushing about putting the final touches on the decorations and making sure each room was prepared for their guests.

Even the king and queen were a bit manic in their excitement, trying to oversee it all while welcoming their once-enemy kingdom's royal family. Soon to be intertwined by their children's union.

Yes, everyone was looking forward to the wedding.

Except, as it happens, the bride-to-be.

oOo

The princess leaned out her window and looked down upon the crowd below as the unfamiliar black carriages bearing the insignia of her future husband's royal crest rolled inside the gates.

Her stomach roiled in fear and despair and she grasped tightly the ring that hung on a silver chain around her neck, praying for deliverance from whomever would grant it.

She had never met her betrothed and she was enraged that her parents had signed a contract of marriage without her consent. And to promise a wedding within 3 weeks of the agreement?!

Call her romantic or fantastical, but she wanted to marry for love. To choose the man she would spend the rest of her life with, the man she would rule beside one day, overseeing their joined kingdoms.

She didn't want to marry a stranger.

She wanted to marry her knight.

Her Sherlock. A knight as brave and honorable as she had ever met. She had give her heart to him almost as soon as he'd knelt before her father and sworn his fealty to the crown.

In only a matter of months, she found herself sneaking out of the grounds to meet him in the forest, their whispered words of devotion fading into the moonlit night. With a promise of love, he had given her a ring, crafted by his hand from the links of his armor.

'So you know that wherever I am, a part of me will always be with you.'

But their time was precious and fleeting, for not a month after their first declaration, Sherlock was lost in battle against an uprising contingent. Molly remembered the devastating day the knights came back, bloody and exhausted, their victory marred by painful losses.

She had rushed out to meet them, ignoring her father's order to stay back. She walked between the rows of knights, straining for any sign of her beloved Sherlock.

As the men thinned, she grew fearful. And then she saw John, Sherlock's right hand and best friend. His face was pale and drawn. He caught her gaze and shook his head once.

Her heart had died that day.

oOo

The door to her chambers opened.

'My lady, it's time.'

Molly acknowledged Sir John's announcement with a nod and tucked the ring into her gown. Unable to bring herself to smile, she accepted his arm silently and allowed him to lead her out.

Outside, the people were cheering and celebrating. But inside, the castle was as solemn as a tomb. Every servant was in attendance at the throne room, each knight and guest as well. Following weeks of endless preparation, it felt oddly calming to walk the stone halls in silence.

But each step closer to her bridegroom felt like a piercing betrayal to her love.

They paused outside the closed doors, behind which her future waited. Sir Gregory stood at attention, waiting for the signal of the bells to open the doors.

'Do you ever think about him?'

Sir John stiffened slightly. 'My lady, surely today is not the day to dwell on-'

'Just answer the question,' she interrupted quietly.

He sighed. 'Every day.'

'I wish…' She couldn't bring herself to say it, the words catching in her throat.

Sir John hesitated a moment before quietly admitting, 'If he were alive, you would most certainly not be wedding anyone else.'

Molly felt tears fill her eyes and she stopped to kiss John's cheek. 'Thank you.'

'My loyalty will always be sworn to you, my lady. And I will always be there to protect you.'

Molly smiled for the first time that day. Turning back toward the waiting ceremony room, she braced herself. 'Then let us do our duties. For the kingdom.'

Sir John admired her courage and willingness to marry for the sake of her kingdom. But he cursed fate for tearing her true love away from her so cruelly.

'For the kingdom,' he agreed.

The bells rang out the hour and Sir John stepped forward to open the door to the throne room, Sir Gregory doing the same on the other side.

oOo

Every eye was watching as she walked toward the priest, her head held high. She kept her eyes locked on the cross hanging in the center of the priest's chest. Beside him, with his back to her, was the prince. She avoided looking at him, knowing that if she did, she would abandon all hope of courage and flee.

She drew up to his side and accepted his arm as they knelt on the long cushion before the priest, his pristine white gloves stitched with black thread.

'We are gathered to witness not only the union between Princess Molly and Prince William, but the uniting of two kingdoms. Once feuding, now coming together as one.'

Her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking. She could feel the warmth emanating from beside her, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Not when she desperately wished he was another man.

All too soon, Molly found herself promising herself to this stranger before God and man, for the good of their kingdoms. 'I solemnly swear so to do.'

And then the priest turned to Prince William, putting the same questions to him.

'I solemnly swear so to do.'

Molly's heart stopped. That…it couldn't be.

She slowly, hesitantly, turned her head. Staring back at her was a dead man, brought to life. She gasped as she took in the shorn curls, the tan of his angular face, and the unabashed love shining in his blue green eyes.

'Sherlock,' she breathed in wonder.

He lifted her hand to his lips and smiled tenderly down at her. 'As if I would let something as ridiculous as death stop me from letting you marry anyone else.'

The priest was still speaking over them, but Molly cared not one wit for what he was saying. Instead, she pulled her knight, her beloved, into a kiss that went far in healing the pain of the two years they'd spent apart.

Behind them, their parents wiped tears from their eyes, their feud forgiven, as the crowd cheered.

'I love you,' she whispered thickly when they broke apart. She couldn't stop touching him, her hands caressing his tear-struck cheeks, taking in her resurrected love. 'I love you so much. But how could you have let me think- let us all believe-'

She pressed her fists into his chest in anger.

'A story that can wait for another day, my love,' he promised, gathering her hands in his, and ran his gaze over her face as if she were a precious work of art. 'Today, let us celebrate the fact that a mission of intended espionage brought us together.'

Molly looked at him in question, but let it go when he kissed her once again.

The priest chuckled. 'Shall we consider the ceremony nearing its end and adjourn to the celebration posthaste?'

Laughter met his question and he quickly wrapped up with the announcement of the bride and groom. Quickly placing their new crowns atop their heads, the colors of their kingdoms woven together in metals of gold and black, the priest stepped back and announced to all who could hear:

'Long live the Prince and Princess. May their years of marriage be blessed.'

Sherlock helped Molly to her feet and they turned to face their people, hand in hand.

'And may they be many,' Sherlock added softly, leaning down to kiss her sweetly.

oOo

This was most definitely not how Molly ever imagined her wedding day. It was almost like a dream.

The breeze blew through the room and she shivered, drawing her robe around her as she stared out into the starry night.

Behind her, the door opened and her husband entered. She turned and tears filled her eyes at the sight of him. His tunic and boots abandoned in the outer chamber, he sauntered into the room in only his trousers and crown. His curls were browner than she remembered and he'd cut them close to his head, no longer dangling in front of his eyes. She hoped to convince him to grow it out once more.

'I am most definitely glad that Sir John is on our side… for the most part,' he grumbled, touching the tender bruise rising on his cheek. When she didn't speak, he looked up at her in question.

'Molly?'

She swallowed thickly. 'I just still cannot believe you're here,' she whispered.

'I promise,' he said, closing the distance between them. 'I will never leave you again.'

Resting her head against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart, she asked, 'Will you not tell me why you let me believe you dead for these past torturous years?'

He sighed and rested his chin atop her head. 'I was sent into your kingdom as a spy. No one would suspect the crown prince to take up such a role. It was when I saw you standing there as I knelt to take that oath of knighthood, that I realised you could put my entire mission in jeopardy.'

'Me?'

'Yes, you.' He leaned back and smiled at her. 'And you did. Instead of gathering information, I found myself falling in love with you. By the time of my pre-planned extraction, I was prepared to do everything in my power to bring peace between our kingdoms. So I could be with you.'

'Your extraction?'

His lips twisted. 'The battle in which I supposedly was left for dead. I was only supposed to fake my death. But something went terribly wrong and I was taken in the chaos. I eventually escaped, but not without being grievously injured.' He turned around and she gasped at seeing the ugly scar that crossed his back, from the top of his right shoulder and down to his left hip. The extent of the scarring testified to the severity of his wound. Molly reached out and trailed her finger along the jagged skin.

'Oh, Sherlock,' she breathed.

He turned back around and caught her hands. 'Never you mind. I'm here, I'm well, and our kingdoms are at peace.'

Still struggling to make sense of it all, Molly latched on to a single thought. 'So my parents knew who you were when they agreed to the wedding?'

'Of course,' he chuckled. 'It took some time to convince my parents to meet with yours without risking bloodshed. But once I confessed that we had fallen in love, everything else fell into place. They would rather see us happy, merging our kingdoms into one with as many heirs as we will give them, than continue wasting lives, time and resources fighting a feud that neither side remembers what it is even about.'

Molly smiled in wonder. 'And about time.'

Sherlock agreed. 'Indeed, but enough about that. I believe we were married today.'

'Yes, yes we were.' She smiled widely, her arms coming up and around his neck, as he leaned down to kiss along her jaw. 'And about time.'

He laughed against her skin and she closed her eyes, wanting to remember this feeling of pure joy forever.

'Now, my lovely wife, we have the rest of our lives to look forward to. And I fully intend to make up for every moment of heartbreak I've caused you.'

He started backing toward the luxurious bed, his hand trailing down her arm only to catch her hand and pull her with him. She laughed softly and followed all too willingly.

'You're doing a wonderful job already, my love.'

oOo

And so the two kingdoms became one. And upon the ninth month of their marriage, the Prince and Princess welcomed the first of what would be their four children.

And they all lived happily ever after.


End file.
